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SWERFs
Sex-Worker Exclusionary Radical Feminists (SWERFs) are an ideological stream within feminism that originated during the second wave and particularly formed as a response to the third wave of feminism. "SWERFs loathe the third wave of feminism. For a number of reasons, partly their own authoritarianism, partly their own demographic myopia, and partly because they themselves represent a partial embodiment of every stereotype thrown at feminists over the last century and a half, this particular group of radfems have been roundly rejected by nearly every demographic they claim to represent, including, but not limited to, women of color, sex workers, kinksters, most male allies, and, at long last, most every feminist who has come after them. This is in part due to their inability or unwillingness to understand intersectionality."https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Trans-exclusionary_radical_feminism (see also TERFs) Articles Feminism 101: What Is A SWERF? "SWERFs also direct whorephobic comments and antagonism disproportionately toward female sex workers, and disregard the role that male sex workers play in the industry. This reveals that SWERF ideology is not, in fact, focused on ending violence against sex workers, but rather on policing women’s bodies and sexuality. SWERFs engender hatred, fear, and oppression of individuals in the sex work industry. The empowerment and protection of sex workers cannot be achieved through SWERF ideology, which ultimately robs women of their sexual agency without any real regard for their personal health, safety, or rights as humans and workers. Safe, ethical regulation and destigmatization of sex work will require ongoing, sex-positive discourse from feminist circles and, most importantly, careful consideration of the needs and voices of the sex work community itself." Examples SWERF ideologies are not localised to any particular sub-group in feminism but tend to be an aspect of second-wave feminism worldwide. |NOW.://Mamma Mia! How one feminist feels about Mia Khalifa> Juliana Yazbeck. Published: 5/01/2015 Rather than support sex worker Mia Khalifa in her home country of Lebanon, Yazbeck sees Khalifa's notoreity as damaging to Lebanese women as a whole. Sex workers are seen as embarassments to SWERFs, who hold back their own liberation from patriarchy by being so submissive to it: "For someone who has struggled so much to assert their presence as a human being with a working, thinking brain, I cannot deny that I felt a pang of despair when Mia erupted across social media and entertainment news. It never even crossed my mind to think, “she doesn’t have the right.” What did cross my mind was: “Really? Of the very few Lebanese women who are making global headlines, it had to be a porn star?” It felt like I had traveled for months, and just as I was nearing my destination, someone used my passport to wipe their ass, undoing all my hard work and sending me back to square one." SWERFs tend to see sex workers as fundamentally supporting the patriarchy (despite the fact that sex workers across the world are the principle victims of said patriarchy). "The general excitement and support Mia has been met with, especially from the “liberal” male population of Lebanon, is understandable. After all, the more sexual liberty Lebanese women find, the easier it will be for the average Lebanese male youth to copulate." This victim-blaming attitude permeates all SWERF rhetoric and leads to violent condemnation of some of society's most vulnerable women - in the name of 'feminism': "The exploitation of women is immensely widespread. It is a complex issue that we continue to study and challenge. It seems that somehow Lebanese women are particularly skilled at finding — dare I even say placing — themselves in exploitative situations: talent-less pop stars, international footballers’ “WAG”s, and now porn stars. We are all free. But that also means we are free to fight with our brains, not just our vaginas." References Category:Feminism Category:Reactionism Category:Conservatism Category:Privilege Category:Oppression Category:Sex Category:Whorephobia